This is a panorama of a lake near Kinderhook, Michigan, where my sister and I went swimming sometimes when we went with our family to visit our great grandmother, who had a cottage on Dragon Lake. We didn't swim in Dragon Lake because of the snakes.
I'm thinking of using Ridvan letters from the Universal House of Justice to discuss the framework for action, and its history.
Ridvan 2008
The letter begins with a panorama:
* study of the creative word * increasing capacity for service * lives of devotion * visits * spiritual education of children * empowerment of junior youth * betterment of the world *
* serious, uplifting environment * action, reflection, consultation * worshiping, praying, awakening spiritual susceptibilities, shaping our lives, together * discussing, deepening, sharing, welcoming * children's classes * junior youth programs * expanding human resources *
To see the panorama I wanted to paint, imagine the first series sitting on top of the second one, with "study of the creative word" on top of "serious, uplifting environment," "increasing capacity for service" on top of "action, reflection, consultation," etc. Imagine not only members of the Baha'i Faith, but a growing number of other people also, who may or may not become members.
Imagine that the fruits of any activity depend partly on the spirit in which it is done. That would apply to our activities in the framework for action. The spirit might include what we're aiming for, our understanding of what is happening and where we're going, our attitudes and ways of doing things, and the spiritual qualities we're practicing. The 2008 Ridvan letter from the House of Justice contains some ideas about the spirit in which we might conduct activities in the framework for action.
Some examples of aims:
- Advancement in the process of entry by troops.
- Conditions conducive to the expression of the spiritual energies of a growing number of believers in pursuit of a common goal.
- An environment in which individual effort and collective action can complement each other in order to achieve progress.
- Doors more widely open for any receptive soul to enter and receive sustenance from Baha'u'llah's Revelation.
- Learning to apply the teachings to the growth of the Faith.
- Spiritual vitality of communities.
- A healthy pattern of growth.
- Material and spiritual human progress.
- Extending the process of systematic learning to encompass a growing range of human endeavours, with the same degree of coherence that characterizes our pattern of growth.
- Sustaining growth in cluster after cluster.
- Struggling against the myriad forms of corruption, overt and subtle, eating at the vitals of society.
- Championing the cause of justice.
- A refuge in the Baha'i community for the masses of humanity.
Some examples of what is happening and where we are going:
- The framework defined by the current series of Plans lends consistency and flexibility to our endeavours.
- It enables us to seize opportunities, to build relationships, and to translate into reality a vision of systematic growth.
- It gives shape to our collective powers.
- The believers in Iran, under the most arduous conditions, have arisen boldly to serve their country and are bending their energies toward its revitalization
- Given the restrictions placed on the administration of the Faith, they have set out on an individual basis to acquaint their fellow citizens with the teachings of Baha'u'llah, directly engaging them in conversations about His redeeming message.
- They have received unprecedented support from enlightened souls.
- They have encountered a receptivity far beyond anything they would have imagined possible.
- Receptivity to the Faith in all parts of the globe will increase as the agonies of humanity deepen.
- The magnitude of the demands will test the capacity of the Baha'i community to its limits.
- The continued prayers of the Universal House of Justice surround us.
Some examples of attitudes and ways of doing things:
- A humble posture of learning.
- Neither hesitate nor falter.
- Neither overstress nor whittle down the truth which we champion.
- Neither fanatical nor excessively liberal.
- Wary or bold, according to receptivity.
- Act swiftly or mark time, according to receptivity.
- Direct or indirect in the methods we employ, according to receptivity.
- Thoughts and actions so free of any trace of prejudice—racial, religious, economic, national, tribal, class, or cultural—that even the stranger sees in us loving friends.
- A standard of excellence so high, and lives so pure and chaste, that the moral influence we exert penetrates the consciousness of the wider community.
- Rectitude of conduct.
- Perceiving honour and nobility in every human being, independent of wealth or poverty.
- Administrative processes of our institutions governed by the principles of Baha'i consultation.
- Confidence that the Concourse on high is marshaling its forces and stands ready to come to our aid.
Some examples of spiritual qualities:
- courage
- wisdom
- zeal
- acuity
- fervour
- circumspection
- determination
- trust in God
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